Wildlife Biologist
Salary

The average pay for a Wildlife Biologist is $49,905 per year. Experience has a moderate effect on salary for this job. Most people move on to other jobs if they have more than 20 years' experience in this career.

XTotal Pay combines base annual salary or hourly wage, bonuses, profit sharing, tips, commissions, overtime pay and other forms of cash earnings, as applicable for this job. It does not include equity (stock) compensation, cash value of retirement benefits, or the value of other non-cash benefits (e.g. healthcare).

XTotal Pay combines base annual salary or hourly wage, bonuses, profit sharing, tips, commissions, overtime pay and other forms of cash earnings, as applicable for this job. It does not include equity (stock) compensation, cash value of retirement benefits, or the value of other non-cash benefits (e.g. healthcare).

Job Description for Wildlife Biologist

Wildlife biologists study how animals interact with their environment. They also study how human activity effects the behavior and population size of animals. Wildlife biologists help to preserve species of concern by reducing human-wildlife conflicts and managing sustainable hunting.

Wildlife biologists are often employed by public agencies, but they can also work as independent contractors or with private natural resource companies. Regardless, a wildlife biologist typically helps to assess the effects of management or development on animals. Typically, they will be expected to help write environmental impact reports. They may also develop and implement surveys to help establish a baseline inventory of the wildlife in a public park or on private property. Often, a wildlife biologist will be responsible for overseeing ongoing wildlife monitoring efforts, in addition to analyzing the results and writing reports of the findings. Wildlife biologists often work closely in a interdisciplinary team, including tribal governments, private industry, and public agencies. For example, they may develop recommendations with a forester to promote habitat for species of interest, such as game animals or endangered species. In the private sector, wildlife biologists may also provide consulting services to an industry to help them meet environmental regulations, or they may help farmers develop means of controlling pest animals.

Conducting animal inventories and monitoring will often require the wildlife biologist to be outdoors in various, sometimes difficult conditions. Most daily activities, however, include writing reports, analyzing data, giving presentations, and networking with stakeholders and collaborators, which generally take place within an office setting.